The present invention relates to a rear end closure assembly for an automotive vehicle.
It is known in a variety of automotive vehicles to employ hinged closure panels for providing access to the cabin of the vehicle through a rear passageway of the vehicle. It is also known that the panels are typically hinged along one of their edges for rotation about an axis substantially coincidental with such edge. Such hinged closure panels, thus, require clearance space into which the closure may pivot to an open or closed position, thereby limiting the practical location where such vehicles can be used. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a rear end closure assembly that can be selectively opened and closed in a stable manner while requiring reduced clearance space for operation.
The present invention meets the need in the art by providing, a rear end closure assembly for selectively opening and closing a rear passageway of an automotive vehicle. The closure assembly includes a linkage for coupling a first closure panel with a second closure panel in a manner that permits the second closure panel to partially orbit around the first closure panel, while being maintained in a substantially vertical orientation. The first and second panels each include a first side edge and a second side edge and a top edge and a bottom edge wherein the first side edge and second side edge of the first closure panel are respectively substantially aligned with the first side edge and second side edge of the second closure panel when the panels are in their closed position. The linkage includes a first and second rigid member pivotally attached to the first closure panel respectively at locations along the first and second side edge of the first closure panel and to the second closure panel respectively at locations along the first and second side edge of the second closure panel. The linkage further includes a transversely disposed torque bar pivotally attached to the second closure panel and having a third and fourth rigid member attached to the transversely disposed bar projecting away from the transversely disposed bar for pivotally mounting proximate to the bottom edge of the first closure panel. Advantageously, the first, second, third and fourth members are configured so that the second closure panel, while being maintained in a substantially vertical position, can be moved away from the first closure panel and then partially orbited in a stable manner relative to the first closure panel to bring the first panel and the second panel in substantially juxtaposed vertical relation to each other.